NEW DELHI: One of the biggest challenges for the India's booming renewable energy industry is getting skilled manpower, says a new report that has urged the government to set up training institutes in every likely solar hub.

"Unavailability of appropriately skilled manpower has been identified as one of the most prominent challenges in hiring required personnel," said the survey conducted jointly by the Council for Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC).

It said the quality of most teaching programmes is poor and does not match industry needs. Many training institutes are also located too far away from where the jobs are for aspirants to take advantage of them.

As a result, most renewable energy companies are forced to conduct in house training programmes.

Overall, the industry employed around 79,000 full time people as of November 2015, but would need 1.3 million by 2022 if the country achieves its ambitious target of 100,000 MW of solar power capacity and 60,000 MW of wind power capacity by then.

Curiously, the shortage is most acute for people with basic skills in constructing and commissioning renewable energy plants, not those with higher technical skills. The largest number of personnel required - around 624,000 people - will be for semiskilled and low skilled technical works in plant construction, the report said.

"There is a clear need for improved training and certification programmes, which are accessible to workers of varying backgrounds and skillsets in all states," said Arunabha Ghosh, CEO at CEEW.

The report urged policymakers to consider establishing "at least one prominent solar training institute in each region projected to be a hub for major solar activity". "The locations of training institutes should be mapped to identify the geographical gaps. For example, renewable energy training clusters could be located near ongoing solar energy projects," it said.

The report was prepared based on a survey of 40 solar companies in 2015, as well as multiple consultations and roundtable discussions with all stakeholders and government representatives.